


Golden Interlude

by Zinfandel



Series: Waiting For You [15]
Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Comfort, Fluff, Friendship, Healing, M/M, Sandy is the best, the best bro
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-26
Updated: 2015-09-26
Packaged: 2018-04-23 10:17:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4872985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zinfandel/pseuds/Zinfandel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the lovely incident of near decapitation, Jack recovers from his injuries a bit more on the Island of Sleep Sands. He and Sandy have quite a talk.</p>
<p>Takes place directly after the 47th duel.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Golden Interlude

**Author's Note:**

> So, this was a response to the many comments i had back in the day wishing for a continuation of the 47th's duel story since it ended quite abruptly when Sandy entered the game. This story has a pretty ok wrap up at the end but it is also unfinished. Notes at the end for the rest of plot.

In retrospect, Jack was an idiot. A hilarious idiot, but still.

He sat in a gold cafe chair, at a gold parlor table on a gold balcony with gold railings overlooking a golden beach, and he swore that the perpetually setting sun turned all the waves gold as well. He was wearing a golden tunic and leggings, his skin dusted shimmery with dreamsand, and about his neck was a thick padded golden brace.

Sandy was overreacting. Maybe just a little, but the relaxing atmosphere and influence of practically being smothered with dreamsand could have him caring less.

And the little man was trying. He was trying so hard it was touching. Sandy sat across from him, arms folded over his chest, a scowl painting his features. Jack wanted to wipe it away. Instead, Sandy reached out and slid a gilded tray of sweets across the table towards his guest.

“Uhm…”

A wave of a hand gestured for Jack to go on.

“Sorry.”

A nod and the same gesture.

“I don’t…” Jack’s voice was still raspy, he really did tear his throat back open from all the shouting and violent magic. “-know where to start?”

A storybook in sand appeared and slowly opened to reveal it’s first page with a ‘Once upon a time’ written on it.

Jack smiled. “Ok. Once upon a time the Boogeyman fell into irrevocable friendship with the coolest most awesome harbinger of good times the world had ever kno-”

Fingers tapped against the table.

“Sorry, sorry, Sandy. Look i uh...this whole thing was a huge accident. Like, catastrophic accident. We were dueling and all that and I was distracted and Pitch couldn’t stop himself-”

Jack was interrupted again with a disbelieving huff and puff of sand.

“Momentum. It was momentum Sandy, like he was mid swing and literally couldn’t dissolve the thing fast enough. He tried, i mean, hey, i still have my head. I’m not joining The Hessian any time soon here.”

Sandy actually grinned. Finally, finally that smile was working it’s way back. Jack grinned in response.

“And, and he took me home, Sandy! like, i woke up and I had no idea where i was and there were nightmares! not his horses, my nightmares. But he woke me up! He was there and i was in a bed of pillows and i couldn’t breathe or move and i was going stiff and freezing because i couldn’t breathe. And he was horrified, Sandy! Like if i could feel fear like he does i’d swear he was afraid. For me! Or maybe at me...or maybe just because of my neck. You didn’t see the damage, Little Man, it was brutal. Like woah. My ice was making everything a thousand times worse. You know his sand is as sharp as glass! He would never cut so haphazardly, though i guess breaking his blade mid swing did no favors on his surgical precision. He’s so proud of that, you should ask him sometime.”

Sandy’s smile seemed to open the floodgates. Jack was ranting, and using his hands to gesture, he could barely move his head, but the rest of him made up for it, and as the golden glow paled from the Sandman’s cheeks, Jack just kept going.

“But he helped me, and you gave me all those bandages and we never needed them before, but they sure did come in handy now! I had to get the ice out of my throat so i could breathe else my heart couldn’t beat and all of me would just freeze solid, and it was scary, but Pitch was there and it looked like he was going to vomit, which would have been hilarious, but I fixed myself up and we got the ice out and he wrapped my neck for me. Then, then he let me stay! Like refused to let me leave even! I think he feels bad, man. Like really truly guilty. Isn’t that great? Pitch Black was worried.”

Jack laughed, then coughed. All this talking was straining his injuries. Sandy pushed a golden goblet towards him, and he took it gratefully, sipping down the liquid.

At the pause in the disjointed recollection, Jack glanced at Sandy who was frowning again.

“You don’t believe me? I bet he is worried sick right now since you kidnapped me back.”

Sandy’s frown quirked up into a bitter smirk. Pitch would be doing no such thing, yet.

Jack couldn’t place the expression so he carried on. “But you were late in checking in so we had some time, which was nice, and I got to explore the lair. Its huge by the way, i bet its bigger than the warren. And I got to know some of the Nightmares, who aren’t really that bad, besides being scary. They really really like Jump scares. Pitch had to kick them out early on for fear of them scaring my head right off my neck. Oh yeah! Did you know Pitch has a kitchen? And cooks? He made me eat stuff! Like, he had no idea what to do with me. Even i don’t know what to do with me, but the food was nice! No one’s ever cooked me food before.”

At this, Sandy had to interrupt. He flashed pictures of North’s Christmas feasts, Tooth’s luncheons, Bunny’s picnics.

Jack’s smile fell a little. “No, you know what i meant. Like just for me. Everyone’s parties are awesome, but its for everyone, you know? He like...made me porridge and oatmeal and mushy stuff that wouldn’t hurt. It was really strange...like really really strange.” He shifted to a warmer more intimate expression.

A look that Sandy was infinitely worried about, and had no idea what to do with either. He was helpless here. Jack was an adult, and suffered injustices that Sandy was only starting to really fathom, but he had always been able and adamant about taking care of himself. This thing with Pitch wasn’t something he could stop, and all the desire in the world to protect and care for Jack felt misplaced as he gave the boy the right to make and carry out his own decisions.

“I dunno, Sandy. I like Pitch. He’s fun.” Jack said quietly, and Sandy couldn’t help a reassuring smile, that Jack beamed back wholeheartedly.

“Am i in trouble?”

Golden fingers pinched in a ‘little bit’ gesture.

“Is Pitch in trouble?”

Both hands came up held as far apart as Sandy could hold them. ‘A lot’.

Jack laughed. “I think i’ve punished him enough, having to take care of me for two weeks.”

Sandy shrugged in an overly innocent manner. Jack didn’t understand that.

~~~

Jack stayed with Sandy on his moving island for another day. The little guy refused to let him leave actually, as he was very concerned about Jack’s injuries, and no amount of reassurance was doing it.

The golden neck cast wouldn’t come off as much as Jack scraped at it, and Sandy started plying him with his own soft delights (ice cream, pudding, jello, yogurt), trying to coax Jack into sticking around. He loved the attention, sure, but Jack had a sneaking urge to get out of there and crawl back into the shadows. Sandy was kind of bright for his tastes.

Don’t get him wrong, Jack loved Sandy. He was the first guardian to ever acknowledge Jack all those years ago, and they were by far the closest friends. Jack wanted to be as good friends with the others as he was Sandy, but he just couldn’t figure it out.

Sandy assured him it would come in time, but Bunnymund’s barbs and animosity was disheartening. Tooth was lovely, but her attention span was shorter than Jack’s and she was always so busy...North was intimidating, to say the least.

Regardless, Jack spent another wonderful day with Sandy as he worked from home, and he finally excused himself later in the hours (evening never actually ended on Sandy’s island) to go and find Pitch and get back to his duties at large.

 

**Author's Note:**

> SO LOL THIS WAS ACTUALLY MEANT TO BE PURE CRACK BECAUSE I RUIN ALL NICE THINGS, EVEN THOSE OF MY OWN CREATION.
> 
> frick, i still laugh i'm an idiot. SO in the 47th, Pitch cleaned Jack's wounds and then dressed Jack in his own clothing. and i was all LOL IF SANDY ABDUCTS JACK THEN JACK'S CLOTHES DISINTEGRATE WHEN THEY GET TO HIS ISLAND LOLOLOL, but jack was unconscious for this so sandy just makes him his own golden clothes! (the title of this fic in my docs folder is 'Gold Pants' hah)
> 
> So the rest of this stupid fucking story has Jack going back to pitch's lair to go and find him and make sure he's ok because sandy seemed pretty mad when jack found them last so he was concerned. WELP! Jack thus becomes QUITE MORE CONCERNED because when he gets to the lair HIS CLOTHES FUCKING MELT RIGHT OFF OF HIM TURNING TO NIGHTMARE SAND AND DISAPPEARING SO HE'S FUCKING NAKED. He shrieks a bit can't find pitch, goes looking for pitch, finds the goofball under his own bed.
> 
> Lo and behold he's nursing some quite fearsome wounds of his own, sandy certainly WAS mad, wasn't he? Jack feels incredibly guilty and sorry, he didn't mean to make things worse. Pitch grumbles and mumbles that yes he should feel sorry! he has to heal broken bones! Jack lays on pitch's bed and talks to him while the man sulks underneath it. 
> 
> and thats all the previous planning lol. I imagine now, that Jack would fall asleep on Pitch's bed and pitch would eventually crawl out to find FRICK A NAKED JACK FROST ALL SPREAD OUT ON HIS BED LIKE A GODDAMN INVITATION BLOODY BUGGER MOON! cue more crack shenanigans. i'm terrible, i ruin my own writing.


End file.
